Reversible hydraulic winch



Nov. 8, 1960 F. LAWRENCE REVERSIBLE HYDRAULIC wmcn 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 17. 1958 Q IJUJIHIIIIIIIII H\ q l 4/ WW M WM kl a INVENTOR.F. L.LAWRENCE Wm Attorneys Nov. 8, 1960 F. 1.. LAWRENCE mavsasxswnyonwuc wmcu 3 Sheets-Sh Filed June 17. 1958 INVENTOR. v F L.LAWRENCEAttorneys Nov. 8, 1960 F. L. LAWRENCE 2,959,396

REVERSIBLE mnaauuc wmcu Filed June 17. 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 x 3 [[I[III I JNVENTOR. U] F. L. LAWRENCE Attorneys United States Patent-OREVERSIBLE HYDRAULIC WINCH Frank L. Lawrence, Newton, British Columbia,Canada,

asslgnor to Aeriahnatic Co. Ltd, a corporation of Britlsh Columbia,Canada Filed June 17, 1958, Ser. No. 742,648

17 Claims. (Cl. 254-172) This invention relates to a hydraulic winch,and namely a winch whose winding drum is driven by a fluid motor. Forits general object the invention aims to provide a ruggedly constructedreversible winch of this nature which is unusually efficient inoperation and which has its fluid motor contained within one of twocheek housings presenting bearings for the journal mounting of thewinding drum.

As a further object the invention aims to provide a winch of thedescribed nature embodying reduction gearing between the fluid motor andthe drum.

It is a still further and particular object to devise a reversiblehydraulic winch including planetary gearing in its reduction system, andcharacterized in that two separate but compounding planetary systems areemployed with one said system being contained in the cheek housing atone end and the other said system being conta-ined in the cheek housingat the other end of the drum.

The invention has the yet further particular object of passing the drivefor both forward and reverse directional travel through much the samepath between the power motor and the drum but in the instance of reversedrive establishing an automatic lock-up of one of the two planetarysystems so that the concerned planet gears will move bodily with therelated sun gear and responsively provide, between the fluid motor andthe drum, only the reduction alforded by the other planetary system.

As a further object still the invention aims to provide a reversiblehydraulic winch especially adapted for use in conjunction with a loggingtractor and having a means by which the speed at which cable is paid outfrom the drum is regulated automatically so as to conform to the speedat which such cable is required.

A yet additional particular object is to provide a winding drumjournaled for rotation about a horizontal axis with the journal mountingswingable about a vertical axis, and having associated hydraulicallypowered means for shifting said mounting at will into selected adjustedpositions whereat the drums journal axis lies normal or approximatelynormal to the line along which the cable is being drawn from the drum.

Other objects and advantages will, with foregoing, appear and beunderstood in the course of the following description and claims, theinvention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation andcombination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view portraying a hydraulicreversible winch constructed to embody the preferred teachings of thepresent invention mounted upon the back of a logging tractor.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged-scale plan view of said winch.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view on brokensection line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view drawn on line 44 of Fig.5, employing a scale enlarged from that of Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view shown partly in plan and partly inhorizontal section with the section line designated by 5-5 in Fig. 3;and

Fig. 6 is a detail blow-up of a fragmentary part of the structure shownin Fig. 5.

Referring to said drawings the reference numeral 10 designates a windingdrum provided with flanged ends 11 and having suitable means (not shown)by which the root end of a cable 12 may be affixed thereto. The drum hasa through-opening 13 along its axial center and an annular hub surroundsthis opening at each of the two ends. For ease of description one of thetwo ends of the drum will be termed the front end and the other the rearend. The hub which lies at the front end is provided upon its externalsurface with a seat 14 for the inner race of a ball bearing 15. The hubwhich lies at the rear end provides a seat 16 for the inner race of aball bearing 17, and also presents an externally splined neck 18prolonged rearwardly beyond the seat. Said bearings derive support froma front and rear gear housing, as 20 and 21, respectively.

These gear housings have somewhat of a bell shape, facing outwardly ineach instance, and the gear compartments provided thereby are eachfitted with a boltably attached closure, as 22 and 23. The front closure22 additionally acts with inner and outer headers 24 and 25 to form thecylinder for a reversible rotary-type fluid motor and is suitably coredto provide separated flow passages 26 and 27 leading to the cylinder andconnecting by flexible pressure-type hoses 3t and 31 with a 2-waycontrol valve 32. A hose 33 connects the valve body with the highpressure side of an associated pump (not shown) while a hose 34 leadsfrom the valve body to a supply reservoir for the pump. A handle 35permits the valve proper to be shifted axially from a vertical positioninto either of two operating positions in one of which the high-pressurehose 33 connects with hose 30 while bringing hose 31 into connectionwith hose 34 and in the other of which hose 33 is brought intoconnection with hose 31 while connecting hose 30 with hose 34.

Upon one end of the body for said control valve 32 there is provided acylinder 36 functioning as the slave complement of a master cylinder 37.In a manner hereinafter to be described a mirrored reaction by thisslave cylinder to a given graduated motion of the master cylinderresponsively shifts the control valve into corlateral swinging motionbetween the arms of this yoke.

The frame provides cheek-sections 43 and 44, and se cured by bolts 45 tothese cheek-sections are cars 46 projecting from the gear housings 29and 21 at spaced intervals of the perimeter. The front edges of saidcheek-sections have re-entrant openings which correspond to the profileconfiguration of the gear housings.

50 represents an arm projected laterally from the swing-frame. Attachedto this arm for swinging the frame is a piston rod 51 having its pistonworking in an oil cylinder 52 pivoted, as at 53, to the frame of thetractor. While not illustrated in the drawings, oil lines from amanually-operated control valve connect with" opposite ends of the oilcylinder so that the operator J may swing the Winch laterally at will,about the center of the king-pins 39 as an axis, into positions whereatthe journal axis of the winding drum will occupy a position normal, orapproximately normal, to the vertical plane in which the tow-cable 12runs in its travel from the drum to the arch.

Reverting now to the reversible drive for the Winding drum it will beseen that within each of the gear compartments of the forward and reargear housings 20 and 21 there is received a respective cage, as 55 and56. Each such cage is journaled to turn about the longitudinal center ofthe winding drum as an axis, this axis coinciding with the center aboutwhich the rotor 57 of the fluid motor turns. A drive shaft 69, keyed tothe rotor, extends rearwardly therefrom into the forward gearcompartment and upon its aft end presents a sun gear 61. The cage 55carries mounting spindles 62 for a set of planetary affairs, with eachsuch spindle being pinned or otherwise secured to the cage so as to holdthe same against rotation. The planetary affairs include over-runningcam clutches 63 between each said spindle and a respective outer racering 64. External gear teeth on said race rings mesh the teeth of thesun gear 61. A surrounding annular internal gear for these planetarygears 64 is denoted by 65 and a multiple-disc brake designated generallyby the letter B is provided for said annular gear. The friction platesof the brake are splined to the gear and the reaction plates are splinedto the surrounding wall of the gear housing. A diaphragm 66 is anchoredby its outer edge and bears upon the front face of the multiple-discbrake. The inner edge of such diaphragm is caught between a springretainer 70 and the out-turned peripheral flange provided at the rearend of a ring-shaped piston 68, the spring retainer lying to the frontand being urged rearwardly by compression springs 71. The piston has aninturned peripheral flange at its front end which takes a slide journalupon the external surface of a lip section 72 carried rearwardly as arim prolongation of the header 24. This lip section terminates in anout-turned peripheral flange so spaced from the inturned flange of thepiston as to define a cylindrical chamber therebetween, and compressedmoderately between inner and outer walls of this chamber with the onebearing against one end wall and the other spaced therefrom and bearingagainst the other end wall are two neoprene O-rings 73 and 74.Connecting ducts 75 bored in the header 24 and the closure 22 lead tothe space between said O-rings from the flow passage 26. It will thus beseen that when oil under pressure is fed through passage 26 to the fluidmotor to turn the latter in one direction the pressure of such oil issimultaneously passed through ducts '75 to urge the piston 68 forwardlycounter to the thrust of the springs 71, or which is to say away fromthe brake, responsively retracting the diaphragm. When this is done theannular internal gear 65 perforce runs free. As the control valve ismoved to the opposite extreme of its reciprocal travel so as to deliveroil under pressure through the other flow passage 27 of the closure,dropping off the pressure in passage 26, the springs 71 reassert theirpower so as to set the brake and responsively lock the annular gear 65against rotation.

A stud shaft 76 is made rigid with the cage 55 and extends rearwardlytherefrom into the hollow center 13 of the winding drum, whereatconnection'is made by a coupling sleeve 77 with a co-axial shaft 78. Therear end of this shaft projects rearwardly beyond the splined neck 18into the gear compartment of the rear gear housing 21. A sun gear 80formed uponsaid projecting end meshes a set of planet gears 81 carriedby the cage 56, with such planet gears tracking upon an annular Letit'be here stated that'delivery of oil under pres sure through flowpassage 27 causes the rotor of the fluid motor to turn in a clockwisedirection as viewed from the aft end of the motor, and that this actiongives a forward drive and occurs in consequence of moving the controlhandle 35 toward the right from the neutral position in which it isshown in Fig. 3. As a further premise, let it be understood that theover-running clutches free-wheel when the race rings 64 are turned in acounter-clockwise direction and that the drum 10 performs itscable-winding function when turned in a clockwise direction. With thesedirectional movements understood, and in each following reference toclockwise or counter clockwise direction considering that the concernedpart is being viewed from the rear, let it be assumed that the controlhandle has been moved into said forward position. The fluid motorthereupon turns the sun gear 61 in a clockwise direction. The race rings64 responsively turn in the opposite direction, freewheeling upon theirspindles, and as they track about the brake-arrested internal ring gear65 the orbital travel given to the planetary gears causes the cage 55 toturn in a clockwise direction. The speed reduction, at this stage of thepower transfer, is 5 to 1. Carried by coupled shafts 76 and 78 to therear gear compartment, the driven sun gear 80 imparts clockwiseplanetary motion through planet gears 81 to the cage 56. The reductionfrom the sun gear 80 to its planetary cage is 8% to 1, wherefor thewinding drum, to which said cage is splined, turns in a cable-windingclockwise direction at the compounded reductions of the two planetarysystems, namely 41%. to 1. The actual reduction is perforce notcritical, the significance lying in the magnitude which the compoundedsystems produce.

Now, let it be presumed that the control lever is shifted to theopposite extreme of its permitted move ment, namely to the left asviewed in Fig. 3, responsively bringing said flow passage 27 intocommunication with the return line 34 leading to the reservoir, andconnecting the pumps high-pressure side with the flow passage 26. Thefluid motor now rotates in a counterclockwise direction, and pressure ofthe pumped oil is coincidently imposed upon O-n'ng 73 to push the piston68 forwardly and responsively release the brake so that the annularinternal gear 65 runs free. The turning moment imposed by the sun gear61 upon the race rings 64 of the over-running clutches is directionallysuch that the clutches take hold to inactivate the planetary process andthe planet gears then turn bodily in unison with the sun gear. Theturning motion passed to the rear sun gear 80 and thence throughplanetary gears 81 to the winding drum is the same as above described,albeit of opposite rotation, at a moderate speed reduction--fluid motorto winding drum-of 8% to 1, in other words the 1 to 1 direct drivecarried by the gears of the forward compartment compounded with the 8%to 1 reduction in the aft compartment.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of a means forautomatically controlling the run-out of the cable, the arrangementbeing one in which the fluid motors speed, While reversing, is increasedand decreased, respectively, according as the line becomes taut orslack. For this purpose a bell-crank 85 is pivoted, as at 86, insurmounting relation to the swing-frame 42 for rocker motion about atransverse horizontal axis with one arm 89 of this bell-crank beinggoose-necked and in its normal position extending forwardly anddownwardly from the pivot in a position to the rear of and to one sideof the winding drum. At its lower end this arm presents a horizontalextension 87 located parallel to the rotary axis of the winding drum ina position such as to bear upon the cable as the latter is unwound fromthe drum. The other arm 88 of the bell-crank is a short arm which risesvertically from the pivot, and pivoted, as at 90, to this arm is apush-rod 91 which is operative or inoperative at will and which isadapted,

when operative, to point rearwardly on a generally horizontal plane. Thepush-rod articulates by a removable pin 93 with a generally co-axialplunger 94 which operates upon the aforementioned master cylinder 37 totransfer operating movements through the responding slave cylinder 36 tothe control valve 32. The action is one in which a slack condition ofthe cable, indicating a run-out from the drum faster than the cable isbeing hauled back over the trailing arch, drops the arm 89 of thebell-crank and thus causes an automatic reduction of the drums pay-outspeed. A taut condition lifts the arm 89 to responsively speed up thepay-out of cable. Upon removal of the pin 93, the bell-crank can belifted into the out-of-the-way position shown by broken lines in Fig. 3so as not to interfere with the working of the control valve 32 when thecable is being taken in. The push-rod, when inoperative, is sustainedupon a rest 92.

As one of many different applications, it is to be noted that thedescribed winch is especially adapted for use as a hoist, permitting aload to be either lowered or raised at any desired speed within the fulloperating range from zero to maximum, depending on the quantity of oilwhich is allowed to reach the hydraulic motor by metering the controlvalve. The winch provides positive brake action completely devoid of thewear customarily associated with winch and hoist brakes. With the usualrelief valves employed in hydraulic systems, it is impossible tooverload the winch and cause failure of any mechanical part.

It is thought that the invention will have been clearly understood fromthe foregoing detailed description of my now-preferred illustratedembodiment. Structural changes will suggest themselves and may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention,wherefore it is my intention that no limitations be implied and that thehereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with thebroadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. In a transmission, the combination of input and output shafts, acarrier, a planetary gear set including a sun gear fast to the inputshaft, having an annular gear, and having planet gears between and inmesh with said sun gear and said annular gear mounted on spindles whichare fixedly carried by the carrier, each of said planet gears comprisinga ring gear formed as the outer race of a respective over-running clutchacting when engaged to couple the ring gear to its mounting spindle andcaused to be engaged when the ring gear turns in a given one directionof rotation, a brake acting when engaged to arrest the rotation of saidannular gear, connection from the carrier to the output shaft, means fordriving the sun gear in either of two directions, selectively, and meansacting automatically to free said brake when the sun gear turns in saidgiven one direction of rotation and to set the brake when the sun gearturns in the opposite direction of rotation.

2.. In a transmission, the combination of input and output shafts, acarrier, a planetary gear set including a sun gear fast to the inputshaft, having an annular gear, and having planet gears between and inmesh with said sun gear and said annular gear mounted on spindles whichare fixedly carried by the carrier, each of said planet gears comprisinga ring gear formed as the outer race of a respective over-running clutchacting when engaged to couple the ring gear to the related mountingspindle and caused to be engaged when the ring gear turns in a given onedirection of rotation, a brake acting when engaged to arrest therotation of said annular gear, a spring acting to set said brake,connection from the carrier to the output shaft, means for driving thesun gear in either of two directions, selectively, and a fluid cylinderand piston assembly acting automatically to retract the brake-settingspring to responsively free the brake when the sun gear turns in such adirection as rotates the ring gears in said given one direction ofrotation.

3. Structure according to claim 2, said cylinder and piston assemblybeing comprised of an annular piston member slidable endwise to the axisof the input shaft on a cylindrical member lying concentric to saidshaft, the annular piston member having an inturned flange on which asurface of the cylindrical member slides and said cylindrical memberhaving an out-turned flange on which a surface of the annular pistonmember slides, said flanges being axially spaced and said slide surfacesbeing radially spaced so as to define a closed chamber of sectionallyrectangular form surrounding the cylindrical member, and two O-ringsreceived at opposite ends of said chamber sealing said ends as fluid issupplied to the chamber.

4. Structure according to claim 3, said brake being of multiple-discconstruction, the pressure of the spring imposing its brake-settingthrust by means of a ring-shaped diaphragm having its outer edgeanchored and its inner edge caught between the spring and an out-turnedflange formed on the annular piston member.

5. In a transmission, the combination of an input shaft, an outputshaft, a first carrier, a second carrier, a first planetary gear setincluding a sun gear fast to the input shaft, having an annular gear,and having planet gears between and in mesh with said sun gear and saidannular gear mounted on spindles which are fixedly carried by the firstcarrier, each of said planet gears comprising a ring gear formed as theouter race of a respective over-running clutch acting when engaged tocouple the ring gear to the mounting spindle and caused to be engagedwhen the ring gear turns in a given reverse direction of rotation, abrake acting when engaged to arrest the rotation of said annular gear, asecond planetary gear set including a sun gear driven by the firstcarrier, having an annular gear, and having planet gears between and inmesh with said sun gear and said annular gear and carried by the secondcarrier, means for holding the last-named annular gear against rotation,a driving connection from the second carrier to the output shaft, meansfor driving said input shaft in either a forward or a reverse directionand means for setting and releasing said brake automatically accordingas the input shaft is driven in said forward or reverse direction,respectively.

6. The transmission of claim 5 in which the driving means is comprisedof a reversible fluid motor.

7. A transmission according to claim 6 in which the means for settingand releasing said brake includes a piston movable reciprocally endwiseto the rotary axis of the input shaft, urged by a spring in onedirection of its travel, and movable in the opposite direction by forceof the hydraulic pressure imposed upon the fluid motor to rotate thelatter in its said reverse direction.

8. A transmission according to claim 6 in which the means for settingand releasing said brake includes .a piston movable reciprocally endwiseto the rotary axis of the input shaft and in at least one direction ofits reciprocal travel activated by force of the hydraulic pressureimposed upon the fluid motor to rotate the latter in one of itsdirections of rotation.

9. In a reversible hydraulic winch, a winding drum having athrough-opening in its center, front and aft cheek.

bitts for the drum each presenting a gear chamber communicating withsaid through-opening, a first carrier received in the front gear chamberfor rotation about an axis coinciding with the rotary center of thedrum, a second carrier received in the aft gear chamber and splined tothe drum, a first planetary gear set in the front chamber including asun gear and having planet gears in mesh with said sun gear and carriedby the first carrier,

a driven shaft extending as an axial prolongation of the first carrierthrough said center opening of the drum into the aft gear chamber, asecond planetary gear set including a sun gear fast to the aft end ofsaid driven shaft and having planet gears in mesh with the last-namedsun gear and carried by the second carrier, a reversible fluid'motorsupported by the front cheek bitt and having its rotor driving the sunof the first planetary gear set, and means for supplying fluid underpressure to the fluid motor so as to drive the latter in eitherdirection, selectively, each of said planetary gear sets including arespective annular gear meshed by the related planet gears. 10.Structure according to claim 9, each of the plane gears of the firstplanetary gear set comprising a ring gear formed as the outer race of arespective over-running clutch acting when engaged to couple the ringgear to a respective mounting spindle which is fixed to the firstcarrier and caused to be engaged when the ring gear turns in a givenreverse direction of rotation, a brake acting when engaged to arrest therotation of the annular gear of the first planetary gear set, and meansacting to set and release the brake automatically as the motor is drivenin a forward and in a reverse direction, respectively. 11. Structure asrecited in claim 9 having a manually operated valve functional tocontrol directional travel and speed of the fluid motor, and meansassociated with said valve employed when a line is being paid out fromthe drum acting to decrease and increase the speed automatically as theline slacks and tautens, respectively.

12. The structure recited in claim 9 having a manually operated valvefunctional to control directional travel and speed of the fluid motor,and means associated with said valve employed when a line is being paidout from the drum acting to decrease and increase the speed of pay-outautomatically as the line slack and tautens, respectively, the meanslast recited including a slave cylinder controlling the valve, a mastercomplement of said slave cylinder surmounting the drum, and a bell-crankone arm of which overlies the run-out of line immediately adjacent thedrum in a position to be raised and lowered as the line rises and fallsand the other arm of which connects with the master cylinder so as toactivate the latter in response thereto.

13. In a reversible hydraulic winch, a winding drum, front and aft cheekbitts providing journal mountings for the ends of the drum, one of saidcheeks bitts having a gear chamber therein and providing a centeropening in its inner wall giving access from the gear chamber to an endof the drum, a carrier received in said gear chamber for rotation aboutan axis coinciding with the rotary center of the drum and presenting anaxial prolongation extending into said opening and operativelyinterconnected with the drum so as to drive the latter, a planetary gearset in said chamber including a sun gear and an annular gear and planetgears between and in mesh with said sun gear and said annular gear, saidplanet gears being mounted on spindles fixedly carried by the carrier, abrake acting when engaged to arrest the rotation of said annular gear,each of said planet gears comprising a ring gear formed as the outerrace of a respective over-running clutch acting when engaged to couplethe ring gear to the mounting spindle and caused to be engaged when thering gear turns in a given reverse direction of rotation, a reversiblefluid motor supported by said chambered bitt at the end thereof oppositethe center opening and having its rotor driving the sun gear of saidplanetary set, separated passage-ways leading to opposite sides of thefluid motor, means for supplying fluid under pressure to either of saidpassage-ways, selectively, while at the same time bringing the otherpassageway into communication with a fluid reservoir so as to drive themotor in either a forward or a reverse direction at will, and meansacting to set and release the brake automatically according as the fluidunder pressure is v the other when in forward and being automaticallylocked up so that its planet gears move bodily with the related sun gearwhen in reverse.

15. The structure recited in claim 14 employing as the prime mover areversible fluid motor having driving connection with said sun gear ofthe planetary system which is locked up when in reverse.

16. In a reversible power unit, a driven member, a reversible drivingmember, and operative interconnection from the drive member to thedriven member for driving the driven member in either a forward orreverse direction, said drive passing successively both in forward andreverse through two reduction gear trains which compound the reductionswhen in forward to give maximum power and incorporating means forautomatically looking up one of said trains when in reverse so that thesame will then move bodily as a unit and provide, between the drivemember and the driven member, only the reduction afforded by the othersaid gear train.

17. In a reversible winch, the combination of a wind ing drum, and meansoperatively connected with said drum for driving the same so as to windcable thereon and including a planetary gear system having planet gearsbetween and in mesh with a sun gear and an annular gear, a source ofpower for driving said sun gear, said planet gears each comprising aring gear formed as the outer race of a respective over-running clutchacting when engaged to couple the ring gear to a respective spindleserving as the inner race and fixed to a carrier for the planet gears,said clutches being caused to overrun when the planetary gear system, bypower received from the power source, drives the drum so as to windcable thereon, means normally arresting the rotation of said annulargear so that the planet gears will walk circumferentially thereof whensuch power is applied to drive the drum in said cable-winding action,the application by the cable to the drum of a counter-direction forcewhich tends to unwind cable when power is not being transmitted from thepower source operating to produce an automatic lock-up by engagement ofthe overrunning clutches, and means for releasing the annular gear forfree rotation thereof to permit the drum to turn in a cable-unwindingdirection.

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